2010 – The Year Of The E-Book Reader
When Amazon updated their Kindle e-book reader in February 2009 with the launch of the second generation Kindle 2, it was the only reader with wireless connectivity. It wasn’t until June of 2009 that another competing reader offered a wireless connection facility. Even then, that was Amazon’s own Kindle DX, a large format version of the Kindle aimed at readers of newspapers, magazines and academic textbooks.
It really started to look as if Amazon was its own competition. Just as well maybe – there were certainly no other serious alternatives on offer.
Even now, in late November 2009, there is still no reader outside of the Amazon Kindle family which offers wireless connectivity. Amazon really have had the edge for quite some time now.
But that is about to change. Sony will be launching their new Daily Edition reader around about the middle of December and Barnes and Noble’s Nook is planned to hit the stores at approximately the same time.
A wireless connection facility is incorporated in each of these readers – and some additional features, such as touch screen controls, are also included. For many users, that will be sufficient to put them ahead of the Kindle family. The Daily Edition reader even lets users download e-books on loan from participating public lending libraries.
The Nook will allow its users to access a collection of over 1,000,000 e-books on the Barnes and Noble website. Users will even be able to lend e-books to friends and family – just like a real book.
So whether you look at it from the point of view of technical specification or from the perspective of user features and usability, the Kindle may find itself in the unusual position of second, or even third, place.
There will be even more competition in 2010, when other manufacturers start releasing large format readers to go head to head with the Kindle DX. One thing is certain, consumers will benefit from the increased competition which will almost certainly drive prices downwards. Bearing in mind that the Kindle is now Amazon’s best selling product, it also seems reasonable to expect Amazon to respond with new and updated devices, new services or both. 2010 will probably see some standard e-book format emerge which will, along with falling prices and increased functionality, quite likely be enough to see e-book readers enter the mainstream marketplace.
Learn all about the Amazon Kindle reader and see how you can save money by downloading free Amazon Kindle books direct from the Amazon site.
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